*Systematic Review* **Developing a Framework for Fake News Diffusion Control (FNDC) on Digital Media (DM): A Systematic Review 2010–2022**

**Shakeel Ahmad Khan <sup>1</sup> , Khurram Shahzad <sup>2</sup> , Omer Shabbir <sup>3</sup> and Abid Iqbal 4,\***


**Abstract:** This study sought to investigate factors causing the spread of fake news on digital media (DM) and to explore the sometimes disastrous consequences of fake news on social media. The study also aimed to construct a framework for fake news disaster management to control the dangers of false news on DM. The study applied PRISMA guidelines and techniques for exploring, devising, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. The search was carried out through 15 of the world's leading digital databases. As a result, 31 peer-reviewed studies published in impact-factor journals of leading databases were included. Findings showed that several factors influenced the sharing of fake news on digital media (DM) platforms. Six major trending factors were the rise of technologies, social connections, political reasons, the absence of a controlling center, online business and marketing, and quick dissemination of information. The study identified the disadvantages of fake news (FN) on digital media (DM). A framework was constructed for managing fake news disasters to control the spread of fake news on digital media. This paper offers important theoretical contributions through the development of a framework for controlling fake news spread on digital media and by providing a valuable addition to the existing body of knowledge. The study offers practical assistance to top management, decision makers, and policymakers to devise policies to effectively manage problems caused by fake news dissemination. It provides practical strategies to address fake news disasters on digital media for redefining social values. This research also assists digital media managers in utilizing the proposed framework and controlling the harmful impact of fake news on social media.

**Keywords:** fake news; diffusion control; fake news sharing; spread of fake news; digital media; online fake news

#### **1. Introduction**

In the present age of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the phrase 'fake news' (FN) has become a common phenomenon used by people from all sectors. Technology-based applications have played an optimal role in the rapid growth of fake news [1–4]. FN is considered a serious threat to the peaceful environment of organizations and society. It can destroy communities and create unmanageable issues for individuals and nations as it damages information systems [5–8]. With the emergence of the internet and web-based applications, news providers have discovered new techniques for communication [9,10] and they keep readers consistently engaged with online news [11–13]. Disinformation is a type of fake news that aims to deceive others intentionally. It causes violence and conflicts among various groups and factions [14]. In the twenty-first century, digital media (DM) channels have reached heights of popularity [15] and are generating extensive amounts of information on a vast range of topics [16] but the authenticity of such information is a matter for skepticism [17–19].

Digital media is frequently used for a number of reasons including making social connections, seeking information, sharing information, and seeking to enhance one's

**Citation:** Khan, S.A.; Shahzad, K.; Shabbir, O.; Iqbal, A. Developing a Framework for Fake News Diffusion Control (FNDC) on Digital Media (DM): A Systematic Review 2010–2022. *Sustainability* **2022**, *14*, 15287. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su142215287

Academic Editors: Alfonso Chaves-Montero, Javier Augusto Nicoletti, Francisco José García-Moro and Walter Federico Gadea-Aiello

Received: 21 October 2022 Accepted: 15 November 2022 Published: 17 November 2022

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

status [20–23]. DM provides ample opportunities for freedom of expression; therefore, the number of potential users is rising rapidly [24]. However, freedom of expression can open the way to fake news and has the potential to cause panic in society [25–27]. Major creators of fake news use Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as these DM platforms are easy to use for news dissemination [28]. These social media apps are frequently used by people to share their emotions and experiences with other members of their community [29]. DM has played a vital role in the dissemination of information during natural disasters globally [30,31], and its tools, particularly FB and Twitter, have made phenomenal contributions during difficult times [32]. Nonetheless, it cannot be ignored that DM tools are potential elements for the creation of fake news disasters through usergenerated content [33,34]. Galeotti [35] explains how fake news on DM is shared to promote false agendas by one country against another. FN is a modern weapon in the current age of social networking applications.

Information professionals can play a vital part in the war against fake news disasters on social media by inspiring users to upgrade their news literacy skills [36], and they need to encourage users to question the authenticity of news received through digital media channels so that dangers of fake news may be avoided [37]. They can play an important role in fake news diffusion control (FNDC) through the provision of information literacy courses to the community [38]. ¸Sisman and Yurttas [39] claimed that media literacy is essential to combat FN disasters on DM. Kim et al. [40] proposed that confirmation of news sources is of paramount significance in the battle against FN. Rhodes [41] suggested disrupting the stream of compatible information as a means of reducing the effect and dissemination of FN on DM. Gimpel et al. [42] believed that fake news disasters could be controlled by encouraging people to call out fake news fearlessly on digital media. Schuetz et al. [43] regarded factchecking platforms as a valuable source for fighting successfully against fake news on social media that has caused social disasters at national and international levels. Chauhan et al. [44] concluded that information disseminated on digital media has contributed a great deal to decision making; therefore, ethical sense-making is required to deal with the growing threat of fake news on DM. Dabbous [45] argued that proper control mechanisms are urgently needed on DM applications to check the authenticity of trending news stories.

Pundir et al. [46] carried out an empirical study on false news sharing on digital media, having used a planned behavior approach. The study intended to identify the impact of awareness about fake news on digital media, subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and users' intentions to confirm the accuracy of the news before sharing it on digital media. The findings of the study illustrated that attitudes towards news authenticity and perceived behavior control were important factors related to the verification of the news before sharing it on digital media. Barakat et al. [47] conducted research on fake news identification on digital media. The objective of the study was to determine the factors which contributed to individuals' identification of false news on digital media. Findings revealed that verification attitudes had a positive impact on fake news identification; nonetheless, blind trust in digital media forums reduced verification behavior. The study offered a behavioral model to reduce the risks of fake information on digital media. Olan et al. [48] inferred through empirical investigation that digital media impacted social values to a great extent and changed public opinion on critical national issues by dividing people about news items posted on digital media. Luo et al. [49], through an experimental study, found that deep learning methods proved valuable in easing the flood of fake news on digital media. Piazza [50] reported that digital media was contributing fake information extensively and misleading society. Therefore, solid measures needed to be initiated to save societies from the harm that fake news was causing.

Having analyzed the literature on this topic, we can identify the major themes that contribute practical measures to stop the fake news disaster on digital media. These include the fearless reporting of fake news, use of fact-checking platforms, checking the authenticity of trending information, developing awareness about fake news on digital media, digital literacy, deep learning and analyzing techniques, and the use of automatic machine-based tools to detect fake news. This also highlights the need to develop a framework to control the flood of fake news on digital media. Hence, the present study has been designed to contribute to this goal.

Through in-depth content analysis of peer-reviewed papers, it is apparent from the literature that a framework for fake news diffusion control (FNDC) systems on digital media (DM) has yet to be developed, In order to bridge this significant gap, the current study was instigated. Factors causing the spread of fake news on digital media (DM) and the disasters of fake social media items have not been explored in the past through systematic literature review methodology. Developing a framework will not only offer solutions but also provide theoretical contributions to guide future researchers for further exploration of this area. Furthermore, it will offer a framework for the top management of institutions, information professionals, policymakers, government representatives, public figures, and other stakeholders to devise mechanisms to stop the flood of fake news on digital media effectively and efficiently.

Figure 1 demonstrates the main themes of this study. It aims to display major constructs through a mind-map diagram.

**Figure 1.** Main themes of the study.

Current research is of immense importance for library professionals, decisionmakers, government representatives, and all other concerned stakeholders to shape efficient methods for fake news detection through innovative approaches based on artificial intelligence systems for news authentication. The findings of the study will prove productive for experts in artificial intelligence and big data analytics in helping to devise technology-based

applications to examine the accuracy of news searched for on social networking websites. A framework based on techniques for fake news identification and removal on DM will contribute valuable content to the body of existing literature and provide a benchmark for policymakers to construct techniques and methods for avoiding the creation and sharing of fake news on digital media.

This paper offers certain theoretical and practical contributions. Our research has theoretical insights for research scholars as it has developed an evidence-based framework to control fake news diffusion on digital media. Future researchers may test this framework through empirical investigations. They can also design virtual systems to control the flood of fake news on digital media by using artificial intelligence. Another important contribution is through the provision of practical implications for policymakers to develop solution-based outcomes. This study also contributes productive guidelines for leaders and managers to apply the latest tools for checking the authenticity of online news. Recommendations based on the results of our study may prove of great value to society and the business community, as a legal document may be developed consisting of core methods to control fake news diffusion on digital media platforms; therefore, the study offers worthwhile social contributions.

#### **2. Research Objectives**

In light of the above, our study aimed to:


#### **3. Methodology**

The research team carried out PRISMA ("Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" procedures [51]. "PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PRISMA is used for reporting of review, evaluating randomized trials, but it can also be used as a basis for reporting systematic review" [52].

PRISMA consists of four major phases with many steps at each phase. The first phase is 'planning', based on two major entities which are known as focused research questions and search strategy. The second stage is 'selection', utilized for sorting and extrapolating retrieved data. The third stage is 'extraction' for evaluating content after applying rigorous criteria for the evaluation. The fourth phase is 'data synthesis', used to analyze the data through step-by-step approaches to produce a concluding set of procedures. These four stages are applied in the current study and are elaborated below:

A. Stage one: Planning

Focused research objectives

Focused research objectives of the study cover the specific scope which are: factors causing the sharing of fake news on digital media; dangers of fake social news on DM; and a framework based on techniques for fake news diffusion control (FNDC) on DM. These research objectives are in a specific order and may be addressed concurrently.

Search Strategy

The strategy applied in connection to search terms, means of literature, and the procedure of searching the content are explained in depth as follows:

a: Search terms

After applying predetermined criteria, search terms were constructed. The following search strings were developed:


After having applied diverse searching techniques and methods, all relevant results were retrieved. Search terms used in different databases, tools, and scholarly search engines were as follows:

("Fake news" OR "Factors of fake news sharing on social media" OR "Effects of fake news" OR "Dangers of fake news sharing on social media")

AND

("Fake news AND digital media platforms" OR "Role of different factors in fake news creation on digital media" OR "Impact of fake news disasters" OR "Causes of online fake news" OR "Fake news disaster management" OR "Role of social media in fake news disasters" OR "Challenges to combat fake news flood" OR "Fake news disasters AND the social media websites" OR "Fake news consequences upon individuals and societies" OR "Fake news" AND "digital literacy" OR "Framework to fight against fake news" OR "Sharing fake news on social media platforms" OR "Social networks" AND "Combatting fake news" OR "Social media literacy" AND "fake news detection" OR "Fake news" AND "context awareness" OR "Role of technology in fake news creation" OR "Role of libraries" AND "fake news detection" OR "Online news" AND "managing users' misconduct" OR "Fake news ethical issues" AND "Role of librarians" OR "Social media as disaster communication media" OR "Challenges for combatting fake news" OR "Problems for information professionals to detect fake news on social media" OR "Modern information war" AND "Tools to battle against fake news warfare" OR "Fake news" AND "Challenges and opportunities" OR "Framework for war against social fake news" OR "Solutions to fight against fake info-demic" OR "Sharing of fake stories on social networking websites" OR "Effects of fake social information" OR "Modeling fake news detection system" OR "Threats of social media" OR "Media literacy and fake news identification" OR "Role of social norms in fighting against fake news" OR "Combating fake social news through fact checking" OR "Fake news detection" OR "Methods to find online fake news" OR "Roles of information professionals in the age of fake news" OR "Librarians against fake news war" OR "Fake news" OR "Digital Media")

NOT

("Fake news" NOT "Traditional media", "Impact of online fake news" NOT "Conventional media", "Fake news detection" NOT "Printing press", "Fake news disaster" NOT "Old-fashioned communication media", "Fake news finding tools" NOT "Electronic media", "Fake news" NOT "Controlled media").

b: Literature resources and existing research

Researchers used 15 databases in a structured way for making an in-depth focused search. These databases were Scopus, EBSCO Host, Web of Science, LISTA, Emerald, LISA, Summon, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Taylor & Francis, Pro-Quest, IEEE Xplore, Springer Link, Cambridge University Press, and Wiley Inter-Science. Peer-reviewed research papers meeting relevant keywords were retrieved through the selected databases. The authors used index terms to further run terms for finding the available published content. Restrictive phrasing was used by the researchers for finding required results in consonance with the formulated objectives of the study. Different filters were used to limit the search. To avoid bias in the search, separate searches were carried out by the researchers from three different working universities of two different countries. Impact factor research papers published in the leading journals of the world were included. Years range of the selection criterion of

the articles was 2010 to 2022. The authors included only the latest impact factors research papers in the study.

B. Stage Two: Selection

(1) Search process

A comprehensive search is carried out in a systematic literature review (SLR) to find and locate all existing material on the focused research objectives. Figure 2 mirrors the steps in this process.

**Figure 2.** Diagram of the search process.

Step 1: Fifteen digital databases and tools were explored systematically to retrieve the results.

Step 2: The searched content was scrutinized to eliminate irrelevant results. For checking relevance, the titles of the research papers were checked carefully. Articles published before 2010 were not used in the research, so only recent robust studies were included. In total, 1684 results were retrieved. After the phase of elimination, 884 articles were excluded for not meeting the set criteria. A further 138 articles were removed after the exclusion of duplications. Through title and abstract screening, another 76 studies were excluded from the list. Five articles were not published in the English language so they were also withdrawn from the list. After evaluating full-text studies, a further 304 papers were excluded. Another 246 irrelevant studies covering no constructs of the study were also excluded. Researchers applied critical assessment criteria to integrate the evaluated articles with the objectives of the research for ensuring quality. Although substantial studies exist on fake news with regard to COVID-19, the research team did not include documents related to COVID-19 in order to maintain a focused and controlled set of study objectives. The investigators carried out the study in a general context, offering a broader outlook rather than projecting issues

relating to COVID-19. A total of 31 impact factor articles were selected as constructs of these research papers were similar to the constructed objectives of the research.

Scrutiny and filtering

Initial retrieved results (1684 as depicted via Figure 2) from fifteen diverse databases and tools were passed through an analysis filter to ensure relevance. Various steps were applied to execute this procedure. Titles of the papers were analyzed critically for conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) of the chosen studies. Various aspects including the language of the articles, content, type, impact factor, and non-impact factor journals, and publishing year were considered critically for including the most updated recent studies in the current research paper. An in-depth SLR of the 31 impact factor articles published from 2010 to 2022 was conducted. Table 1 reflects inclusion and exclusion criteria.

**Table 1.** Inclusion and exclusion criteria.


C. Stage Three: Extraction

Keeping in view the formulated objectives, scorekeeping was assigned to the retrieved articles. Scoring was assigned to the answers which were integrated with the study objectives. The system of scoring was based on 'yes', 'no', and 'partly' options. Studies within set criteria were provided a score. Studies required to be included in the current research needed to obtain a good score. This system enabled authors to eliminate 1653 irrelevant results and to include 31 relevant research papers to respond to the focused research questions.

D. Stage Four: Execution

The last step was to ensure the validity of the searched content to ensure the quality of the work. The list was assessed against the criteria of eligibility which consisted of impact-factor articles from Web of Science and Scopus indexed journals. Research studies published before 2010 were excluded from the list. Explored studies were evaluated critically and carefully for the inclusion of the most recently published IF articles. Studies having no match with FN on DM were excluded. Books, conference proceedings, dissertations, magazines, newspaper articles, organizational newsletters, grey literature, magazine articles, book chapters, reports, standards, presentations, assignments, government documents, streaming videos, trade publication articles, and transcripts were not included in the current study. However, 31 IF research papers were included to execute the current study. Figure 2 reflects a graphical representation of the complete search process performed by the research team.

#### **4. Results:**

#### *4.1. Overview of the Selected Studies*

A total of 1684 results were retrieved through fifteen of the world's leading digital databases and electronic tools: 129 through Scopus, 97 via EBSCO Host, 85 from Web of Science, 154 by LISTA, 83 through Emerald, 84 via LISA, 89 from Summon, 223 by Elsevier, 128 through Google Scholar, 26 via Taylor & Francis, 85 from Pro-Quest, 94 by IEE Xplore Digital Library, 74 through Springer Link, 27 via Cambridge University Press, and 306 from Wiley Inter-Science. These results were retrieved from January 2022 to May 2022. After critical identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion criteria, 31 impact-factor research papers were included to carry out the current study. Figure 3 shows the breakdown of the results from each digital database and electronic tool.

**Figure 3.** *Cont*.

**Figure 3.** The search process.

*4.2. Geographical Distribution of the Studies*

It is pertinent to know the geographic distribution of the chosen articles in a systematic literature review as an inclusive picture becomes evident of the studies investigated around the world. Table 2 reflects the geographical distribution of the studies. It was found that selected papers came from thirteen different countries across the globe. It was noted that the majority of the studies on the topic (*n* = 16) originated from the United States of America, indicating that fake news has been a trending topic for researchers in the USA.


**Table 2.** Geographical distribution of studies (*n* = 31).

#### *4.3. Research Methodologies Used in the Studies*

Table 3 mirrors the research methodologies used in the selected studies. It was found that experimental and survey methods (both used six times) were the most widely used by the researchers in their studies, followed by interviews and a theme-based approach. Hence, it showed that in studies related to fake news on digital media, experimental methods and questionnaire approaches were widely used by the researchers to meet the set objectives of their studies.

**Table 3.** Research methodologies used in the studies.


Table 4 illustrates the datasets extracted through 31 research papers. An in-depth SLR of the 31 impact factor articles published from 2010 to 2022 was conducted.

















#### **5. Factors Causing Fake News Sharing on Digital Media**

Various factors influenced fake news sharing on digital media platforms. These factors are classified into the rise of technologies, social connections, political reasons, no center of control, online business and marketing, and quick dissemination and retrieval of information. These factors are discussed below:

#### *5.1. Rise of Technologies*

Results showed that the rise of technologies, social networking websites, smart devices, high-tech tools, and gadgets created an obsession with fake news sharing on social media. Social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter [37], the rise of smartphones, and high-tech data analytics [53] stimulated users to share fake news on social media for influencing people across diverse segments. The decline of traditional media channels led to increased consumption of news through social media [54], web-based publishing platforms, the evolution of ICTs, rapid developments in information technologies, and innovations in mobile-based technologies [4,55–57], enabling users to actively interact with the content as well as its creators and add value to the accessed content [58]. User-friendly interfaces provided access to additional contextual information [55,58].

#### *5.2. Social Connections*

According to the results, online social relations were also an influential factor to disseminate FN on DM. Social connections, online social relations and friendships, virtual social worlds, content communities, and social interaction [10,44,58,59] provided information-sharing and socialization gratifications [60]. Online friendships led not only to collaborative projects, access to a broad audience, and freedom of expression, but also to sources of entertainment [10,42,44,60].

#### *5.3. Political Reasons*

Fake news was created on digital media due to certain political factors as some political leaders promoted specific agendas to gain public favor [16]. Fake news on DM was posted to shape political opinions [54]. Aggressive online news forums were developed [61] to plant seeds of mistrust, promote a specific point of view [62], and use propaganda against others [53]. User-generated content led to ambiguity [63], contributed to domestic terrorism, changed public opinion, increased hostility towards liberal political figures, caused loss of faith in the trustworthiness of social and political institutions, and increased intolerant attitudes [50].

#### *5.4. No Center of Control*

The 31 studies identified that often, no center of control in social media platforms existed through user-generated content [58]. There were legal and cultural differences among countries [61] and it resulted in reluctance on the part of technology companies to engage in censorship laws that might hinder the spread of fake news on social media [4]. The anonymity of users on social media platforms [56] enabled them to create news of any type [40]. Fallible human tendencies, fake account creation on DM, and the ease of setting up multiple accounts on social media were obvious factors of fake news sharing on social media [4,41,42].

#### *5.5. Online Business and Marketing*

Social media, as a primary gateway to the news source, inspired businesspeople, freelancers, advertisers, marketers, and entrepreneurs to bring innovation to their businesses through the use of social media [41,64]. Nevertheless, fake financial content on digital media created problems for online clients regarding product quality [62]. Online advertisements helped start campaigns on a massive scale and facilitated the attainment of financial success [55,58]. Social media was a useful factor in electronic marketing [55] as it provided instantaneous sharing for creating awareness to a broader spectrum of society [62]. Businesspeople had an overwhelming interest to use social media on account of features such as cost-effectiveness, maximum profit via electronic advertising, and online marketing [40,41,59,63,65,66].

#### *5.6. Quick Dissemination and Retrieval of Information*

Fake news on digital media had become a low-cost modern weapon [53,56]. DM spread false online content quickly, searched fake news stories, and produced and exchanged fake information [40,42,45]. It gathered and disseminated news easily, and shared fake news due to religious belief [62,63,66]. Due to the general popularity of DM related to the fast delivery of online information, fake news was shared during natural calamities [55,66].

#### **6. Problems Caused by Fake News on Digital Media**

The study identified the problems caused by fake news (FN) on digital media (DM). It was found that fake news caused an information flood, and generated swarms of content [10,54]. Fake news exploited privacy, provided a false sense of security, spread rumors, released naked pictures, poked fun at celebrities, disclosed confidential information; provided possibilities for harassment, raised issues of conflicts of interest, and damaged personal reputations because FN on DM was controlled and administered by third parties [58]. Fake news on digital media led to aggression, created mental disorders, promoted uncivil norms, increased excessive criticism of others, influenced emotions, and raised psychological issues [4,67]. FN on digital media perpetrated false doctrines, promoted hidden agendas; misled consumers about particular goods, promoted aggressive public attitudes, caused fake campaigns, manipulated decision-making approaches, provided fake ratings, and led to the turbulence of financial markets across the world [19,39,55,57].

Fake news on digital media disseminated unverified claims, promoted biased attitudes, caused fear and isolation to increase, resulted in ethnocentric ideation, claimed false ideas, created distance in family and friends, relationships, and social support and also caused depression [59,65]. It caused abusive, hateful, and offensive content, frustration in the public, horrible consequences, the decline of mental health, panic in society, and disturbance in the lives of others [43,55,61]. It was a threat to international relations, national and international peace, and caused cybercrimes [56]. It triggered conspiracies against others, impacted on users' actions, gave birth to inestimable social harms, and misled consumers to buy certain products based on fake reviews [40,62,66].

Fake news has caused enormous distress and inconvenience to people's social lives, exacerbated confusion in society, and stimulated individuals to absorb false information [41,68]. It has had a severe negative impact on society as it has enhanced negative feelings, raised moral issues, lacked adequate control mechanisms, manipulated the media, and given rise to fictitious job companies [42,44,47].

### **7. Framework to Combat the Problems Caused by Fake News Dissemination on Digital Media**

A framework was constructed based on the results of the selected studies for fake news diffusion control and is portrayed in Figure 4. The framework was developed having drawn insights via thematic analysis of the derived literature for fake news detection on digital media and measures to combat it successfully. It consists of 73 synthesized themes grouped according to four major constructs—effective research and critical thinking skills, usage of artificial intelligence, information laws and ethics, and media and news literacy to fight against fake news disasters on social media platforms. These themes are elaborated as follows:

**Figure 4.** Model of fake news disaster management.

#### *7.1. Effective Research and Critical Thinking Skills*

Social media users should possess effective research and critical thinking skills for fake news diffusion control. They should verify the integrity, reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of information that exists on social media platforms [58]. They should identify influential users as well as pinpoint the content they share on DM [54], and be aware of the necessary documentation behind posted news on social networking websites [38]. They should avoid the irrational sensationalist impulses related to fake news [61], and use social media applications carefully to authenticate news before sharing it on DM [10,62]. They need to focus on verification and ethical sensemaking strategies so that the fake news can be professionally checked, flagged, or even removed [42,44,45]. They should have certain personality traits for assessment of the source of news reputation, and follow social norms for fact-checking tools that restrict the sharing of questionable material [40–43,53,60,66]. Critical thinking skills urge information-literate people to locate news sources that can be used to evaluate the searched information through social media applications [65]. It is a fact based on empirical evidence that effective research and critical thinking skills can lead to fake news being identified and reported to digital media administrators.

#### *7.2. Usage of Artificial Intelligence*

Usage of artificial intelligence facilitated fake news diffusion control as automatic machine learning-based detection approaches proved useful in limiting the impact of fake news on social media forums [40,53,66]. Emerging technological tools [4] including big data analytics helped in the track record for testing reliability of the information [38,69,70]. Automatic content identifier machines created spam folder for fake news, and provided knowledge-based analysis automatically through the creation of subject bibliographies, indexing, and online tools [19,58,68]. Technology companies needed to work collaboratively with interested individuals and information professionals in this regard [4]. Early detection of fake news, quality big data, blocking of fake social media accounts causing fake news, automatic fake news detection tools, and content-based methods were productive methods to control fake news diffusion on digital media [69]. Results have clearly shown that the usage of an artificial intelligence-based information authentication system is a useful source to successfully fight against the fake news war on social media platforms.

#### *7.3. Information Laws and Ethics*

Social media creators should incorporate into their professional ethics aspects of social media policies to keep a strict check on fake news [58]. Acts of censorship need to be introduced to ensure a controlled system on social media [56]. User privacy policies should be administered, and guidelines for users and content moderators must be drawn up [58,61]. Governments should develop official social media channels and develop a strategy to use DM before natural disasters to prevent the sharing of false news [55]. Laws against the violation of such policies should be implemented to administer and manage antagonistic posts [61]. Health and other disaster management bodies should work together to stop the sharing of fake news on DM [55]. A strict policy should be enforced for fake news disseminators [50]. Therefore, implementation of information laws and professional ethics by concerned bodies prove helpful in stopping the spread of fake destructive news on social networking websites.

#### *7.4. Media and News Literacy*

Systematic media literacy education is required for fake news disaster management on social media and to raise public awareness of the harm that online fake news can cause [39,43]. Information users should be made aware of social media so that they can be empowered to detect and contest fake news [43,58]. Information literacy instruction, user education, web education, news literacy, awareness about fact-checking, training activities, news literacy modules, civic engagement, library instruction sessions, courses on fake news damage and detection strategies, digital literacy initiatives in institutions, digital expertise, social media literacy, adequate education, and information skills are needed to manage fake news on social media effectively and efficiently [19,37,38,45,58,59,65,71]. Library and information professionals must play an active role in online communities to reconfigure information courses in collaboration with other stakeholders [4,58,71]. The role of counselors and psychologists is also imperative and indispensable in reducing the negative effects of fake social news on digital media [59]. Literacy skills in new media can prove a useful tool in controlling fake news diffusion in digital media. The literature shows that there is a strong positive relationship between literacy in new media and control over fake news diffusion in digital media. Without imparting media and news literacy in digital media users, disinformation may not be stopped. Adequate information literacy skills are a useful and valid source to detect and stop the proliferation of fake online news. Hence, media and news literacy are effective weapons for controlling the spread of fake online news.

#### **8. Discussion**

Fake news on digital media platforms is causing problems globally. Digital media is a leading source of fake news creation that leads to mental aggression among men and women in society and causes destructive consequences. The negative aspects of DM cannot be ignored as they create restlessness, panic, and disaster in the lives of individuals, societies, communities, and countries through the generation of false online news. FN disasters on DM have a global impact. Demand for fake news management systems is rising rapidly. Measures adopted to combat fake news on digital media are of immense value in the present era of misinformation. In order to safeguard the precious future of current and future generations, fake news disaster management is of paramount significance as social survival is not possible at all without controlling the flood of fake digital information [39,67].

This instant study is the first of its kind and has systematically selected and critically reviewed 31 studies published in the English language from geographically dispersed locations of the world to provide insights into the area of fake news diffusion control.

Related to the first objective, the study identified six major factors which cause fake news sharing on social media platforms. These factors are the rise of technologies, social connections, political reasons, no center of control, online business and marketing, and quick dissemination and retrieval of information. These are further classified into several sub-groups.

Related to the second objective, the study revealed disasters caused by online fake news which destroy individuals, societies, and nations to a great extent. These disasters include a false sense of security, possibilities for harassment, issues of conflicts of interest, loss of personal reputation, aggression, mental disorders, uncivil norms, psychological issues, promotion of hidden agendas, aggressive public attitudes, fake campaigns, depression, mental health issues, and panic in society. Fake news causes enormous distress and inconvenience to people's social lives, confusion in society, and leads individuals to absorb false information. It has a severe negative impact on society as it enhances negative feelings, raises moral issues, manipulates the media, and gives rise to fictitious job companies [42,44,45].

Based on the findings of the selected studies, the authors have constructed a framework for "fake news diffusion control" related to the third objective of the study. The framework consists of four constructs: effective research and critical thinking skills, usage of artificial intelligence, information laws and ethics, and media and news literacy. Effective research and critical thinking skills are the first step needed for the detection of fake news on social media. Information users with effective research and critical thinking expertise will find questions in their mind regarding the reliability and validity of online news, and will critically check sources of news and fact-checking websites. Various authors such as Wasike [58], Ahmed and Lugovic [54], Junestrom [61], Liu and Wu [66], Chatterjee [72], Chang [73], and Rhodes [41] support the theme of effective research and critical thinking, reinforcing the view that verification attitudes, personality traits, and creative skills facilitate the detection of fake news via social media platforms.

The second construct of the fake news control system model is the usage of artificial intelligence in which automatic machine-based tools are used to report fake social online news. Artificial intelligence assists in detecting fake news in every field of life. It proves useful in privacy and security-related matters. Google is also focusing on artificial intelligence to improve lives of people in society. Artificial intelligence tools are user-focused and human- centered. Raw data are examined efficiently through AI-powered applications. In the third construct, information laws and ethics are applied to take strict action against fake news disseminators on social media. The fourth construct of the framework is media and news literacy in which different courses are designed to spread civil literacy related to fake news disasters for efficient management. These strategies are concurrent with the findings of various studies conducted by Sisman and Yurttas [39], Fernandez [4], Sullivan [19], Copenhaver [71], Hunt et al. [59], Junestrom [61], Yuan et al. [68], Dabbous [45], and Piazza [50].

Fake news management is a continuous process and effective online fake news detection depends upon the combined efforts of humans and machines. An active role for disaster-management bodies and governments is highly significant for the implementation of fruitful measures for fake news diffusion control. As Jayasekara [55] has argued, disaster-management bodies and governments should work together to stop the sharing of fake news on DM and develop a strategy to use DM channels during natural disasters.

The rise of technologies, social connections, political reasons, no center of control, online business and marketing, and quick dissemination and retrieval of information are significant factors for the spread of fake news on social media applications. These factors need to be addressed using modern-driven technologies and tools so that the spread of false online news may be avoided. Our study also identified various problems that have arisen because of fake news on social media. Pertinent problems include exploitation of privacy, prevalence of rumors, leakage of vulgar content, hidden agendas, mental health issues, violence, aggression, excessive criticism, biased attitudes, cyber-crimes, and moral issues. Similar problems have been reported by Chen and Abedin [67], Fernandez [4], Ahmed and Lugovic [54], Lei [56], and Chauhan [44].

The results of this instant study are equally beneficial for all stakeholders including civilians, professionals, media personnel, and all users of digital media. The study has constructed a framework based on the findings with four propositions devising an efficient system for fake news diffusion control. The study has provided breadth by developing a framework to control fake news. When all stakeholders are actively involved in applying the given framework, the risks of fake news disasters may be minimized and social survival is possible. The framework is more applicable and productive when realizing the social disasters of fake news via digital platforms. Decision-making bodies can use the results of the study as a benchmark to frame impactful policies for controlling fake news diffusion. Our findings will help the creators of social media websites to generate such methods as are useful in minimizing the spread of fake news on DM.

This study has worthwhile strategic and managerial implications. Institutions and organizations may follow the provided guidelines to stop fake news diffusion on digital media. The findings of the study aptly indicate that the identification of fake news on digital media provides shared benefits to individuals and companies. The social harms of fake online news may be avoided through the practical implementation of the recommendations provided in this study. If legal policies are not applied to stop the spread of fake digital news, then its effects may damage the roots of society. This study reinforces practical steps to control the virus of fake news on social media through strategic practices. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the best practices, strategies, practical measures, and techniques for fake news diffusion control on digital media which are important for the proper development and advancement of society. The framework provided in the study is equally beneficial to all stakeholders.

#### **9. Conclusions**

This instant study carried out a systematic literature review through 31 selected studies to identify factors behind the sharing of fake news on digital media, disasters of fake online news, and strategies to handle the flood of fake news stories effectively and efficiently. Based upon the insights drawn from the synthesized studies, a framework for fake news management was developed which consists of four steps (Figure 4). This study is the first attempt to offer a comprehensive and critical review on the topic of fake news diffusion control. Previous studies have adopted empirical methods to investigate and explore the topic of fake news; however, the authors of the instant study have used a systematic review methodology as it provides a vast range of diverse disciplines in which area of fake news has been identified and varying themes are found for the provision of deep insights to identify impactful findings. This study is an important contribution to the theoretical development of the issue. The model developed in light of the findings of 31 selected studies will assist policymakers to devise policies to control fake news proliferation on digital media applications.

#### **10. Recommendations**

Based on the study findings, the following recommendations are offered to control the spread of fake news on digital media:


#### **11. Limitations and Future Studies**

Despite significant contributions, our study has some limitations that need to be reported. A key limitation of the instant study is the inclusion of research articles (*n* = 31) to conduct systematic review for constructing an evidence-based framework to control fake news diffusion on digital media. Other sources of literature have not been included in the study. Another pertinent limitation is the exclusion of research papers that have not been published in the English language. The instant study is conducted through systematic review methodology; nonetheless, a model to combat fake news on digital media needs to be conducted having used empirical approaches. Further studies should be conducted into the relationship between new media literacy and web-based fake news epidemic control.

**Funding:** The research team would like to acknowledge the support of Prince Sultan University for paying the Article Processing Charges (APC) of this publication.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

## **References**


## *Article* **WhatsApp as a University Tutoring Resource**

**Indira Gómez-Arteta <sup>1</sup> , Cesar Gonzalo Vera-Vasquez <sup>2</sup> , Jorge Mamani-Calcina <sup>3</sup> , Héctor Cardona-Reyes 4,\* and Klinge Orlando Villalba-Condori <sup>5</sup>**


**Abstract:** Tutoring, as a process of accompaniment of university students, has among its purposes identification of and reflection on the various difficulties that can interfere in the development of student competencies. To the same end, the present research explores the possibility of using WhatsApp as a tutoring resource in universities, with an emphasis on identifying and reflecting on the academic, personal, and family problems of students. This case study uses a quasi-experimental approach with a treatment group and a control group intentionally selected at the Escuela Profesional de Educación Secundaria de la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, Peru, during the first semester of the 2020 academic year. Data were collected using semi-structured interview guides and individual tutoring cards. The results show that this technological resource improved the university tutoring service among the students in the experimental group. It proved more flexible and attractive to students, who were motivated to externalize and reflect on their personal, family, and academic difficulties and showed increased openness to receiving help in problem solving them. On the other hand, student participation was less active in the control group. These findings affirm that WhatsApp is a resource that can allow more spontaneous and friendly communication between tutors and students, creating a context conducive to achieving the objectives of university tutoring.

**Keywords:** WhatsApp; social networks; interpersonal relationships; higher education; digital communication

## **1. Introduction**

Currently, social networks and instant messaging applications have been proven to support educational processes, though not as substitutes for face-to-face interaction [1]. ICTs can provoke emotions and feelings, which implies the channeling of emotions when interacting with these tools [2].

Today, WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging applications in the world. According to Statista [3] data, monthly active users of WhatsApp will number 2 billion in 2021, followed by Facebook Messenger with 1.3 billion users and WeChat with 1.2 billion users. WhatsApp has a record of nearly one billion messages sent in a single day. In addition, the platform allows other functions, such as making calls, sending voice messages, and sending multimedia content such as images and videos, among others.

During the COVID-19 pandemic [4], 15 billion minutes of voice and video calls per day were recorded [5]. As for the users who use the platform, data indicate that most of them are young people between 18 and 24 years old. In the United States alone this sector represents 44% of WhatsApp users, followed by approximately 30% representing users between the ages of 25 and 29 and 26% between the ages of 30 and 49. Finally, seniors over the age of 65 account for 7% [6].

In this sense, WhatsApp is a tool that can be used in different fields of application both for its availability on various platforms and its reach to different types of users.

**Citation:** Gómez-Arteta, I.; Vera-Vasquez, C.G.; Mamani-Calcina, J.; Cardona-Reyes, H.; Villalba-Condori, K.O. WhatsApp as a University Tutoring Resource. *Sustainability* **2022**, *14*, 12304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912304

Academic Editors: Alfonso Chaves-Montero, Javier Augusto Nicoletti, Francisco José García-Moro and Walter Federico Gadea-Aiello

Received: 31 July 2022 Accepted: 16 September 2022 Published: 27 September 2022

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

WhatsApp has a high level of acceptance in online learning thanks to its practicality, the availability of support, motivation, and continuous connection with friends, as well as the possibilities it offers students in terms of exchanging information and participating in learning discussions [7].

In the field of education, it can help to promote participation in the classroom and encourage students to build knowledge. Activities such as sharing educational content in various formats such as text, video, audio, and web resources are among the advantages offered by this tool. In addition to being a tool available 24 h a day, students can establish student-to-student or teacher-to-student communication, which promotes the generation of discussions on educational topics in context.

WhatsApp in the educational environment can represent an area of opportunity in the teaching–learning process, and with the right strategies can be adapted to the contexts of each student and teacher for the promotion of research, knowledge construction, student self-learning, and collaboration.

Previous studies have shown that WhatsApp offers diverse educational possibilities; for example, WhatsApp is known to be a space of opportunity that acts as a conduit to help African schoolchildren succeed in school [8]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evidenced that WhatsApp application can increase English language learning during summer intensive courses [9] and that social networks and applications such as WhatsApp can serve as communication and teaching tools in developing countries [10].

The general objective of this work is to explore the possibility of using WhatsApp as a tutoring resource at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, Peru. In addition, particular objectives we propose to identify through this tool are recognition and reflection on academic, personal, and family difficulties of students and explaining how the use of this technological resource can help to improve interaction between tutors and the tutored.

This work is composed of seven sections. The background Section 2 delves into the topic of university tutoring through the use of WhatsApp. Works in the literature concerning the use of WhatsApp as a tool for teaching and learning are presented in Section 3. Section 4 presents a case study with students of the Professional School of Secondary Education of the National University of the Altiplano of Puno, Peru, and Section 5 presents the results. Section 6 discusses the obtained results in terms of university tutoring, and finally, Section 7 presents our conclusions and future work.

#### **2. Background**

#### *2.1. University Tutoring*

In the model of university training by competencies assumed by Peruvian universities, the tutoring system is a fundamental aspect that provides help, guidance, and counseling to students in order to achieve academic success [11]. University tutoring helps in the personalization of teaching and the integral development of students, focusing on preventing desertion and encouraging the practice of transversal competencies [12], leading to a strategy that allows individualized attention in a heterogeneous context [13].

The tutoring system at Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno aims to guide and accompany students in the academic and personal aspects of their professional training process with an orientation towards achieving quality learning, reduce=ing student dropouts, and contributing to their timely graduation. The purposes of tutoring are referred to as guiding the student's learning process (general and specialty competencies) and guiding their personal development (soft skills).

This last idea is built on the proposal of the three-dimensional approach to tutoring, that is, personal, academic, and professional [14] and the decision taken by the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno to modify this three-dimensionality, analyzing the academic, personal, and family components.

Tutoring is an effective strategy to improve academic performance, although it requires good tutors, an adequate relationship with students, and a favorable environment [15]. Tutoring refers to both the academic field and other aspects, such as personal, family,

social, professional, and administrative matters [16], turning the tutorial action into a process of academic, personal, and professional counseling that responds to diverse student needs [17,18].

The dimensions addressed in the study which are considered in the university tutoring system of the UNAP are derived from these positions.

University tutoring is performed by professors as a function inherent to the exercise of their academic and research activities [19,20]. However, tutors do not always use the best strategies to approach their students and help them reflect on difficulties that may be interfering with their academic performance. It is this last aspect that is the foundation of this research. Tutoring comprises interaction processes between tutor and students based on mutual knowledge of their specific problems, needs, and interests [21]. Currently, three complementary and non-exclusive modalities of university tutoring can be distinguished, namely, individual or personal tutoring, group tutoring, and the newest, virtual tutoring [22].

In order to realize these tutoring modalities, it is necessary to create an environment that allows close, systematic, and permanent accompaniment to support the student and facilitate the process of constructing different types of learning, cognitive, affective, sociocultural, and existential [21], including tye necessary use of mechanisms that allow easy and timely communication through information and communication technologies (ICT) and the advent of applications for smartphones, which offer effortless communication [23].

#### *2.2. WhatsApp and University Tutoring*

Mobile phones, social networks, and instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp are tools that allow immediate communication, create discussion environments, and allow for sharing files to facilitate personalized learning [24–26], all of which are perfectly adapted to a virtual tutoring system.

WhatsApp is one of the most common and widely accepted tools for communication and collaboration [23]; it is adapted to mobile use, allowing convenient and practical communication to the point of replacing phone calls in youth communication [27]. Therefore, WhatsApp has recently been proposed as one of the most popular applications used by students [28].

The pedagogical potential of WhatsApp has been addressed in several different aspects, including formal, informal, face-to-face, and distance education [29], and represents an innovative and effective resource for achieving beneficial communication [13,30]. WhatsApp can be used as a productive and viable pedagogical tool for creating a participatory learning environment [31], and has even greater pedagogical use in the university [32]. Students can use it to create instant messaging groups to keep up to date and support each other academically [33], as WhatsApp motivates students and professors and encourages them to share information [34].

Additionally, WhatsApp creates a more individualized relationship with the teacher, motivates students to learn, and generates cooperation and participation even from the shyest students, allowing them to develop communication [35], which is made more expressive and varied by the use of various textual and non-textual elements such as images, videos, audio, and stickers [36]. Likewise, students communicate more through WhatsApp, and do so with enthusiasm and a feeling of freedom [37], constituting a useful tool for virtual tutoring [38].

WhatsApp has proven useful for both tutors and students, who claim that its usefulness lies in its power for efficient communication, both synchronous and asynchronous [39].

Likewise, WhatsApp is an application that allows teachers to provide students with timely support, guidance, and advice, guaranteeing quality contact and a "virtual closeness" that counteracts the social distancing implemented worldwide [11]

The use of WhatsApp as a tool for the development of university guidance and tutoring processes has proven to be effective, as students ae able to access any type of information anywhere and at any time [40].

Although research on this topic is scarce, the results on the use of WhatsApp as a tutoring support resource show several advantages: it generates individualized interaction with students and a positive view of communicative competence that a tutor should have; it allows students to engage in consultations to perfect their academic work, and generates a group class feeling. However, disadvantages have been identified as well, the main ones being the students' idea that the tutor should be available to them every day and at any time and a preference for using individual chat and not the groups created for consultations [29,41]. These aspects are essential to the consideration of WhatsApp as a resource that generates the appropriate context to carry out university tutoring.

#### **3. Related Work**

WhatsApp is a messaging tool that allows for sharing information with other users, forming groups of interest, and coordinating these groups, among other functions. This makes WhatsApp a tool that can be used for educational purposes as part of the various existing teaching–learning processes. In the literature, there are several initiatives in which WhatsApp is the base tool for knowledge acquisition strategies.

In the last five years, WhatsApp has been used as a tutoring support tool thanks to the ease with which is can be adapted to the educational context through intertwined student– teacher interactions. The use of technology as an educational resource in educational institutions has allowed students to extend the range of possibilities in their learning experience. Authors such as [29] have emphasized new technologies, as today's students are digital natives and these tools are an essential part of both teaching and study as a means of simple generation of teaching–learning. An example of tutoring using WhatsApp is the case of [42,43], in which doctors and students established a communication mechanism within the Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach. The findings of this work indicate that WhatsApp can be a feasible study mechanism for study groups. In the case of [44], the authors focused on the use of methodologies for the integration of qualitative methods in order to learn how tutors adapt to teaching in groups. In both of these papers, the authors intended to establish effective tutoring styles through digital tools.

Other works such as those of [45–47] are oriented to the use of WhatsApp as a tool that can be incorporated into educational processes. These papers explore the possible success effects on students when using a technological environment compared to a traditional learning environment. In [48], the authors present a study using a sample of 166 law students in which teacher–student interactions through the use of WhatsApp were analyzed. The objective of this study was to determine the various mechanisms of interaction between students and teachers through a technology tool that teachers can use to monitor different academic tasks, coordinate in real-time, and analyze the interactions of students that affect the learning process. The authors of [49] presented a study with the objective of analyzing the potential of WhatsApp as a tool to promote health education aimed at reducing breast cancer by using WhatsApp groups to help women acquire the necessary knowledge for early identification of cancer. The results identified an improvement in women's knowledge on issues related to myths and truths about breast cancer.

In other areas of medicine, [50] focused on understanding how WhatsApp can result in a positive academic impact for veterinary students.

As can be seen, these works help to change the paradigm of education through the use of technology, promoting participation, freedom of dialogue, and the search for new resources and educational strategies to improve the quality of education.

#### **4. Case Study**

#### *4.1. Materials and Methods*

The case design was quasi-experimental, with a pre-and post-interview focused on a sample chosen for convenience in which there was no randomization in the choice of participants in the two groups. The goups were, first, the experimental group, which used WhatsApp for tutoring, and second, the control group, which did not. The analysis was conducted through a mixed research approach.

#### *4.2. Participants*

The research was carried out during the first semester of the 2020 academic year, a semester that was conducted entirely virtually. The study population consisted of the students of the Professional School of Secondary Education of the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, Peru (UNAP), numbering 1162 students in total.

The sample was purposive by convenience, considering as a selection criterion that the tutor should have an academic load of at least one subject in the 2020-I semester with that group. Under this criterion, 28 students were considered for the experimental group (IV semester) and 30 for the control group (III semester), drawn from the schools of Language, Literature, Psychology, and Philosophy. It should be noted that the study was carried out as a pilot educational experience at the university, and as such the selection of the purposive sample was considered acceptable.

#### *4.3. Variables and Instruments*

Two research variables were used. The first, WhatsApp, was considered as an independent variable, the use of which in the experimental treatment involved four resources inherent to the application: messages (text and voice, for synchronous and asynchronous communication), calls (for synchronous communication), attachments (Word, pdf, ppt, images, music, and videos for asynchronous activities), and emojis and stickers (supplementing text messages or replacing them in synchronous and asynchronous communication). These were used by the tutors according to their relevance for each activity and by the students according to their preference. The second variable, university tutoring, was considered as a dependent variable oriented towards identification and reflection on academic, personal, and family difficulties that could affect students' performance as related to specific aspects considered in the university tutoring system of the UNAP (Figure A1).

Data were collected using interviews, with semi-structured interview guides and individual tutoring forms as instruments. The interviews had the following two purposes:


The first semi-structured interview guide had nine guiding questions oriented towards identifying and addressing the academic, personal, and family problems of the students. This was accompanied by the individual tutoring form, an official instrument approved by the Academic Vice-Rectorate of the UNAP (see Figure A1 of the Appendix A) to record the difficulties that students might have, promote reflection, and aid in deciding on what help might be needed. The second semi-structured interview guide consisted of three questions related to the usefulness of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource.

Both interview guides were evaluated by experts in psychology and tutoring at UNAP in order to ensure their validity. The results showed an Aiken's V coefficient of 0.88 for the first interview guide and 0.75 for the second, indicating the validity of the study instruments.

#### *4.4. Procedure*

We began with entrance interviews with the members of both groups, which were conducted through phone calls and video calls. The entrance interview aimed to identify academic, personal, and family problems which could affect the students' university performance. Subsequently, a protocol was approved for the use of WhatsApp as a resource for academic, personal, and family tutoring during the semester in the experimental group, which contained guidelines about the purpose, activities, and rules for using this application. Figure 1 shows examples of tutoring through WhatsApp.

**Figure 1.** Examples of tutoring carried out through WhatsApp.

Informed consent was requested from all of the students, including the assurance that their identities would be handled confidentially, with 100% of them expressing agreement. Fourteen activities were carried out, always initiated by the tutor in the WhatsApp group, each one comprising a dynamizing and motivating element (six video, six audio, and two image activities were used), accompanied by questions and reflection activities to encourage comments on each topic addressed. Individual or group chat was used to address individual and group tutoring through WhatsApp. The topics were directly related to the problems identified in the entrance interviews and were modified according to the context. Each activity lasted one week, with the space for comments able to be extended until students felt comfortable sharing their experiences or required support.

At the end of the experiment, an exit interview was applied for both groups in order to take stock of how academic, personal, and family problems were addressed during the semester and aided by the university tutoring system. Students in the experimental group were interviewed to learn about their experiences concerning the use of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource. It should be emphasized that in the control group the same topics were addressed and programmed in a work plan; the difference was that the activities were oriented towards setting up consultations or requesting support from the tutor and responding through telephone calls or by e-mail. The specific procedure is presented below in Figure 2.

The information collected in the entrance and exit interviews was processed quantitatively (percentages per item) and qualitatively (open-ended responses). To obtain the quantitative data, the students' responses were concentrated in individual tutoring cards, which made it possible to record and count the percentage of students in both the experimental group and in the control group who identified and reflected on their academic, personal, and family problems, establishing a comparison before and after the experimental treatment. Likewise, it was possible to establish a flow of reactions to the tutoring activities encouraged through the use of WhatsApp in the experimental group by recording the number of responses per week to the reflection questions, the number of individual conversations, and the number of group conversations.

The qualitative responses were studied from the point of view of discourse analysis, with the creation of categories based on the monitoring of dimensions that already exist for tutoring at UNAP, allowing us to understand the main academic, personal, and family problems affecting the lives of university students and to encourage reflection on them. Additionally, the final interview with the experimental group allowed us to capture the

perceptions of students regarding the usefulness of WhatsApp in the relationships between tutors and tutored.

**Figure 2.** Experimental procedure.

#### **5. Results**

#### *5.1. WhatsApp and University Tutoring*

The obtained results show that WhatsApp helps to achieve the objectives of university tutoring, allowing the identification of academic, personal, and family problems of students in order to offer them the necessary support under permanent accompaniment in a way that does not interfere in their studies. Figure 3 shows a comparative approach to these problems through university tutoring in the experimental and control groups before and after the experimental treatment.

Before the experimental treatment, an average of 10% of the students in both groups allowed themselves to discuss their academic, personal, and family problems with their tutor, with no marked differences between them. After the application of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource, 26% of the students in the experimental group on average managed to identify, reflect on, and try to solve their academic, personal, and family problems with the help of their tutors, creating spaces for reflection in order to prevent these difficulties from interfering in their development as university students. There was a difference of 16% compared to the input evaluation. In the control group, the difference between the entrance evaluation and the exit evaluation was only 4%, with no change in the treatment of students' problems through tutoring.

**Figure 3.** Comparative graph showing the students' reflection on their problems through university tutoring in the experimental and control groups before and after the experimental treatment.

#### *5.2. Use of WhatsApp for Identification of and Reflection on Academic Problems*

In the experimental group, the treatment of students' academic problems was the aspect that showed the most minimal progress; between the input evaluation and the output evaluation, there was only a difference of 8%, from 17% to 25%. Nonetheless, this result is positive, indicating that the problems presented are those that occur frequently to students and that they have no qualms in sharing them with their tutors to try to overcome them. Among all the features evaluated in this dimension, there are two aspects in which WhatsApp tutoring showed the best results:


**Table 1.** Students' expressions when addressing some academic, personal, and family difficulties (Note: Comments transcribed from WhatsApp).



**Table 1.** *Cont.*

#### *5.3. WhatsApp in the Identification and Reflection on Personal Problems*

Of the three components of university tutoring conducted through WhatsApp, the aspect that had the best results was personal tutoring, which sought to identify and address the personal problems of students in order to help them find viable solutions and prevent these difficulties from interfering with their academic performance. Between the input evaluation and the output evaluation, there was a difference of 21%, from 9% to 30%, demonstrating that WhatsApp is a resource that can motivate students to externalize their personal problems, address them, and try to solve them with the help of their tutors and the services provided by the university. Among the traits evaluated in this personal dimension, three aspects stand out:


#### *5.4. WhatsApp in the Identification of and Reflection on Family Problems*

Family problems that could affect the academic performance of students were among the issues identified and reflected upon, increasing this aspect by 17%, from 7% in the entrance evaluation to 22% in the exit evaluation. This shows that tutoring via WhatsApp is a good strategy to motivate students to address their family concerns and to try to find a solution. Within this item of tutoring, two aspects were the most outstanding:


#### *5.5. WhatsApp in Interactions between Tutors and Tutored*

The communication processes in the experimental group using WhatsApp became more fluid from the fourth week onwards, when sharing problems with the tutor became a way for the students to generate empathy and promote mutual assistance and help among the members of the group, creating greater affinity by showing that the tutor might have the same problems as the students, which promoted more expressive communication using the various resources of WhatsApp. Thus, reflection on the students' problems increased in individual and group conversations via WhatsApp (Figure 4), mainly evidencing the increase in individual conversations, reaching thirteen during weeks 11 and 12 of the experiment, when in the first weeks there were only three on average. In addition, group conversations remained constant between one or two per week, which was positive, as it helped to generate companionship and empathy among the group members. On the other hand, the answers to the reflection questions remained constant, with an average of twenty students answering them each week.

As mentioned, the use of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource has been very useful in accompanying students who require help, allowing the establishment of affectionate and friendly ties between tutor and tutored, which is essential to generating support strategies in the academic, personal, and family development of students. This result is supported by the students' comments on their experience with the use of this instant messaging application, which are transcribed in Table 2.

**Table 2.** Comments on the use of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource (Note: exit interviews with the experimental group).


**Figure 4.** Graph showing the flow of reactions to tutoring activities in the experimental group.

#### *5.6. Statistical Tests*

This section presents a description of our statistical analysis using SPSS software [51]. In the experimental analysis group, for the three dimensions according to the Shapiro–Wilk test [52,53] the data are homogenized, that is, the perceptions are relatively the same in all cases. The same is true of the control group, except that in the personal dimension there is an approximation of non-normality, that is, the dispersion increases.

Student's *t*-test [54] was used to analyze the academic and family dimensions, and the Mann–Whitney test was used for the personal dimension.

The interpretation of the significance obtained here assumes that there are no differences in either group, that is, for the values corresponding to the before and after peiods for the academic aspect the perceptions are equal for Student's *t*-test, as the *p*-value is greater than 5% (see Table 3).


**Table 3.** Student's *t*-test: independent samples.

For the Mann–Whitney U-test [55] (see Table 4), the significance is less than 5%, meaning that there are differences between before and after, i.e., the personal aspect increased in difference as shown by the statistical test (see Figure 5).

**Table 4.** Summary of Mann–Whitney U-test for independent samples.


For the comparative test (see Table 5), these results allow us to conclude that, statistically speaking, it is evident that the academic and family aspects are similar, that is to say, that there is no variation between before and after from the inferential test. In the case of the personal aspect the difference is evident, allowing us to see the importance of using WhatsApp in tutoring.

**Table 5.** Summary of hypothesis testing.


Asymptotic significance is shown. The significance level is 0.050. a. The group field does not have exactly two values.

#### **6. Discussion**

WhatsApp is a resource that allows various topics to be addressed through university tutoring. Previously, tutoring has been identified as a determining factor in the development of autonomous learning, although its scope of action was focused on the academic aspect [56]. This situation has been overcome with the results of the present research, as we have shown that, with the use of WhatsApp as a university tutoring resource, the personal and family aspects of students' lives can be addressed in addition to academic ones, showing an advance in the coverage of this student accompaniment strategy. The tutoring space represents an environment of freedom and trust, where it is important to prioritize students' expression of doubts and concerns regarding their school life as well as their emotions and feelings [57], allowing the development of resilient attitudes and the achievement of a degree of satisfaction with life [58].

Additionally, having a protocol for the use of WhatsApp allows students and tutors to respect agreements concerning schedules and rules of interrelation through this medium, generating conversations that are developed according to the proposed objectives. This ratifies that the organized and planned use of WhatsApp, allowing students to respect the hours of consultations and comments, with reasonable exceptions [29]. Our results confirm that the presence of the teacher influences group conversations [59], especially if they show empathy to generate reflection. Therefore, WhatsApp represents a tool that, when used well, can be a great help for the proposed objectives [33], be these educational more generally or specifically in reference to tutoring.

The success of the use of WhatsApp in university tutoring is linked to the resources used: videos, audio, images, emojis, stickers, and others; linked to a clear objective, they allow for effectively addressing the academic, personal, and family difficulties of students. The tutor can encourage reflection on the topics of interest of students with the aid of teaching resources, recreational activities, and audiovisual material, among others [57]. Our results confirm that information and communication technologies (ICTs) contribute in various ways to the integral development of people, provoking reactions that allow the channeling of emotions when interacting with these tools [2].

It is further highlighted that between the group and personal tutoring modality, students prefer the latter, ratifying the claim that personal tutoring is the most valued by students, far above group tutoring [60]. This confirms that, although WhatsApp did start to be used as a tool for group use, most students preferred to make their doubts, queries, or opinions known in a personal way through private messages [29].

The relevance of communication and interaction evidenced by the use of WhatsApp was constituted as a resource that improves the university tutoring service, as it makes it more flexible and attractive to the student, especially for its influence on fast and effective communication [23], this being a feature that is related to the ease of using this application; ratifying that either by convenience, shortage of time, or shyness, young people prefer to communicate by WhatsApp than face to face [27].

It is confirmed that WhatsApp is the resource that works best for tutorial work, surpassing even face-to-face tutoring, which is explained by the knowledge and skills that students have in the management of this application [11], generating student satisfaction by recognizing the advantages of this method of tutoring compared to other traditional methods [40].

Likewise, it is ratified that students prefer to concretize tutoring communication in real time using technological applications [61], with synchronous communication by message or video call being the aspect that has turned WhatsApp into a resource that can promote the process of academic guidance, counseling, and effective support to students [11].

These statements coincide with the idea that both tutors and students prefer social networks and instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp in non-face-to-face tutoring processes because they are part of their daily life [24].

#### **7. Conclusions and Future Work**

WhatsApp is a resource that allows for more spontaneous and friendly communication between tutor and tutored, creating a context conducive to realizing the objectives of university tutoring. This is an aspect that confirms the idea that through WhatsApp a community and a very positive group feeling is created, as students feel that the teacher or tutor is always present [33]. In addition, it is ratified that the relationship between tutor and tutored is framed in a high level of communication, trust, closeness, empathy, and mutual acceptance, aspects that are achieved through permanent interactivity [20], which is greatly favored by the use of WhatsApp. Likewise, it is confirmed that students value having a tutor to help them in their academic work using this instant messaging system, which allows the tutor to respond and comment in a more agile way, further ratifying that quick responses from tutors can help students to continue addressing a problem [62].

With the application of WhatsApp as a tutoring resource, the bonds between tutor and students became more effective, helping group members to develop social skills. This ratifies that the relational connection is very important among group members, and although both vertical and horizontal relationships are possible in tutoring groups, it is more frequent and useful that these are horizontal [63]. Our results agree with the premise that these spaces generate relationships of trust and collaboration which are conducive to the exchange of experiences, opinions, and practical advice [64]. This situation challenges the tutor in a demanding role, forcing them to develop their leadership and fundamental interpersonal skills, as they must relate, listen, and respond to different personalities [65] while training thei own personal dimension [66].

In addition, the results obtained here demonstrate the usefulness of virtual tutoring, as WhatsApp allows permanent accompaniment and communication between tutor and tutored, dispensing with the physical presence of both. This result overcomes previous conceptions that have downplayed the importance of virtual tutoring, indicating that neither students nor tutors were fully aware of the possibilities that ICT can bring to the tutoring modality [60].

The results obtained in this work are positive, and allowed us to contrast the three dimensions of academic, personal, and family. Although the results did not show a significant difference in the academic and family dimensions, in terms of the personal dimension an increase of 5% was found, highlighting the importance of the use of WhatsApp. In addition, this study made it possible to capture impressions. It was possible to determine the effectiveness of WhatsApp as a platform that allows the use of other resources, such as videos, files, and images, as a reinforcement to tutoring. As limitations in this work, it can be mentioned that the quasi-experimental work was conducted with a single teacher-tutor and an experimental group of students intentionally selected as a pilot study. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized. A prospective replication of the study with a larger number of tutors and students would help to provide a more complete view of the usefulness of WhatsApp as a resource for academic, personal, and family tutoring at the university. The possibility of measuring the improvement in the achievement of student competencies as a result of the tutorial action remains open as well.

Finally, the challenges for the future of this work include learning more about the advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp through more case studies within higher education institutions, using a larger number of students to strengthen quantitative studies, identifying teaching–learning styles through the formation of study groups between tutors and students, addressing user satisfaction studies for teachers and students in the use of WhatsApp as a tool in the classroom, and adapting the use of WhatsApp to existing learning models and even to generating improvements in them.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R.; Data curation, I.G.-A.; Formal analysis, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R., C.G.V.-V., J.M.-C.; Funding acquisition, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C.; Investigation, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R., C.G.V.-V., J.M.-C.; Methodology, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R., C.G.V.-V., J.M.-C.; Project administration, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R.; Supervision, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R.; Writing—original draft, I.G.-A., K.O.V.-C., H.C.-R., C.G.V.-V., J.M.-C.; Writing—review and editing, H.C.-R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was financed by the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno (Peru), through the Fondo Especial de Desarrollo Universitario.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** We thank the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, Peru, and the Universidad Católica de Santa Maria, Peru, for their support in conducting this research.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

## **Appendix A**




**Figure A1.** Individual tutoring form approved at UNAP.

#### **References**

